Decorative castings and method of fabrication thereof

ABSTRACT

A method of casting metals whereby unique decorative objects may be obtained. The method is comprised of providing a bed of ice of proper character and pouring molten metal of a controlled temperature over the ice. Various results and ornamental characteristics may be achieved by variations and/or additions to the method as well as in the various finishes to the cast article which may be applied.

lJnit ed States Patent 1191 Goodspeed Nov. 12, 1974 DECORATIVE CASTINGSAND METHOD 3,738,417 6/1973 Moore 164 76 OF FABRICATION THEREOF FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS lnventofi Raymflnd E- Goodspeed, Garden 41,7904/1910 Austria 249/62 Grove, Cal1f. 1,580,370 9/1969 France 249/62 [73]Assignee: Teledyne, Inc., d/b/a Teledyne Casting Los Angeles CalifPrimary ExammerR0bert D. Baldwm Assistant Examiner-John E. Roethel [22]Flled: May 1973 Attorney, Agent, or FirmSpensley, Horn & Lubitz [2]]Appl. No.: 362,930

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl 161/7, 164/76, 164/138, A method f ing. m alwhereby unique decora- 249/62 264/317 tive objects may be obtained. Themethod is com- [51] Int. Cl 322d 25/02 prised of p ding a d of ice ofproper character [58] Field of Search 164/138, 76, 78, 79; and p gmolten m ta f a contr ll d temperature 249/61, 62; 161/7; 264/317 overthe ice. Various results and ornamental characteristics may be achievedby variations and/or addi- [56] Ref n es Cit d tions to the method aswell as in the various finishes to the cast article may be 393,95412/1888 Woodward 164/79 X 13 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures DECORATIVECASTINGS AND METHOD OF FABRICATION THEREOF BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to the fieldof casting, and more particularly to the casting of objects of art anddecoration.

2. Prior Art Objects of art and decoration have been fabricated byordinary metal casting techniques for a great number of years. Suchobjects of decoration are casts using a prepared pattern so that eachcasting is a duplication of a set pattern. Typically, a considerableamount of finishing work is required to complete the objects, as thecast surface is generally not as desired for the finished item. Further,only shapes which allow the removal of a pattern (or the removal of thefinished object from the molds if processes such as die casting areused) may be cast, thereby highly limiting the character and appearanceof the finished item. Further, since each item is a reproduction of thepattern used, the copies have no individual character, and any changemay involve considerable expense in making a new pattern therefor. Inrecent years there has been a growing interest in free form art objects,that is art objects having a natural appearance, pleasing in form andcontour without being, functional in appearance. Preferably such itemsshould each have an individual character, thereby making each anoriginal work of art. Normal casting methods are not conducive to theproduction of such items, as the most pleasant shapes and forms as wellas variations from one casting to another are impossible to achieve withconventional casting tech-- niques.

Some interesting forms for decorative purposes have been created bypouring a molten metal, typically aluminum, onto a relatively flatsurface, allowing the metal to splash and solidify in a relativelyrandom form. Such techniques yield a different result for each articleformed in that manner and provide many interesting flowing forms andshapes in the finished product. However, the form created in this mannermust necessarily be relatively thin and flat and therefore is generallyusable only as a wall decoration and the like, as opposed to a true,three-dimensional object of art for display in a cabinet, on a coffeetable, etc., or for formation of such other particles as candlestickholders and the like. Also, the article formed in this manner may havean undesired surface finish, and generally has sharp points and edgeswhich must be removed in order to prevent injury to a person touchingthe article and to provide the desired visual results.

v There is a very substantial market for objects of art having varyingthree-dimensional characteristics, provided such objects may berelatively inexpensively fabricated and provided with various finishesand physical characteristics to. provide the desired uniqueness in eachand every article made. Recognizing this need, various attempts havebeen made to directly cast such articles utilizing various moltenmetals. One method .which has been attempted is to pour molten metalinto water hoping that the random pattern or form taken by the metal asit is sinking, but before solidifying, will provide the desireddecorative character in the solidified object. This method, however, isunsatisfactory since the violent boiling and exhausting of steam rendersthe process generally uncontrollable, and any finished object which hasa pleasing appearance also has a large plurality of very finely pointedspires and sharp edges, requiring excessive finishing work to render theobject safe to the touch. In any event, attempting to pour molten metalsuch as aluminum and the like into water is at best dangerous because ofthe violence caused by the rapid expulsion of heat stored in the moltenmetal as steam as the metal contacts the water. In this regard, itshould be noted that many persons have been injured or killed infoundries as a result of the literal explosion occurring when hotobjects, such as molten metal, ladles, etc. contact water, whetherwithin or without a mold cavity.

There is therefore a need for a casting method which may be used toyield artistic castings of varied character and requiring a minimum offinishing to provide a pleasing and attractive three-dimensional work ofart of unique character.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method of casting metals whereby uniquedecorative objects may be obtained. The method is comprised of providinga bed of ice, preferably free of frost, and pouring molten metal of acontrolled temperature over the ice in a smooth but rapid manner. Thebed of ice preferably is of random sized pieces of ice having roundedcorners and contours and having a maximum size which is reasonably smallin comparison with the intended casting to be made therefrom. Mostmetals may be used for forming castings in accordance with theinvention, with the metals generally being selected based onconsiderations of cost, ease of finishing and environmental integrity.Finishes include painting by dip or spray processes, includingelectrostatic painting, and special finishes, suchas colored anodize inthe case of aluminum castings, may be used to provide startling finishesfor the castings. Methods for providing openings or pockets in thefinished castings are described, as are other variations in theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a typicalwork of art formed by the present invention casting method.

FIG. 2 is the perspective view of a typical ice bed, which may be usedin accordance with the present invention method.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of the apparatus of FIG. 2, illustrating theuse of a plug in the ice bed and the manner in which the molten metal ispoured thereover.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a fixture suitable for use. in providing anappropriate base surface forcastings having an opening therethrough,defined during casting by the plug shown in FIGS. 2- and 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION First referring to FIG. 1, a sideview of an ornamental work of art which may be fabricated in accordancesubsequently described in greater detail, the size, height, etc., of thecasting, the flatness of the base and other general characteristics maybe readily controlled by controlling various parameters in the castingmethod to result in castings of a great variety of size and character.

In the description to follow, the preferred method of forming a castingof the type shown in FIG. 1 of an artistic and ornamental charactershall be described in detail. It is to be understood, however, that thisspecific description is made for purposes of explanation only and thatcertain steps are included only because they result in improved surfacecharacteristics or yield certain specific results not essential to thesuccessful practice of theinvented method, and that various changes inthe methods and apparatus may be made by those skilled in the art toachieve castings of somewhat different visual and physicalcharacteristics. Thus, in accordance with the preferred method, acontainer 24, open at the top is provided with a valve 28 at the basethereof for allowing the drainage of water from the container. Thecontainer 24, which should be capable of withstanding relatively hightemperatures, at least for short periods as may be encountered fromsplashing molten metal, etc., is filled with chunks of ice 26. For adecorative casting suitable for display on a table, the chunks of ice 26are preferably approximately the size of normal ice cubes, and in factfor this purpose standard ice cubes may be used.

In a normal casting environment, thechunks of ice, whether conventionalice cubes or crushed ice of selected size, will be stored within arefrigerating means prior to use. Accordingly, the ice will normally beat a temperature substantially below the freezing point, and will frostover when exposed to the normal foundry environment. It has been foundthat the accumulation of frost on the ice may detract from the desiredvisual appearance of the resulting casting, and accordingly in thepreferred method of practicing the present invention, the frost is firstremoved by spraying the ice lightly with water by a hose 30. Thespraying not only quickly removes the frost, but further tends toincrease the temperature of the ice to the freezing point, so thatfurther formation of frost is greatly retarded. The spraying has a stillfurther advantage in that it induces melting of sharp edges and cornerson the chunks of ice 26, giving them a less geometrical shape which, asshall subsequently become apparent, improves the visual appearance ofthe resulting casting.

If a simple art object is desired, molten metal such as aluminum of anappropriate temperature may be poured onto the ice and allowed tosolidify as it runs between the chunks of ice. If, however, an objectsuch as, by way of example, a large candlestick holder is being cast anda controlled opening or pocket is desired in the resulting casting, anappropriate member to define the opening, such as the aluminum plug 32(shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) may be disposed within the ice as shown. Theplug 32 may rest on the bottom of the container 24, though this is notrequired, and in fact is preferably readily removable so that aftercasting, the bed of ice may be replenished and new chunks of icerandomly mixed with those remaining after the previous casting. Assumingthat the opening is to pass all theway through the finished casting, theplug 32 should extend upward above the top surface of the ice and have aconcave upper surface, such as the spherical section 34 so as to avoidthe retention of molten metal thereon.

With the plug 32 in position, molten metal may be poured around the topof the plug 32 so as to be fairly uniformly distributed around theperiphery of the plug. The metal 36 may be poured using a ladle 38, andshould be poured quickly but smoothly, almost as if dumping a glob ofmolten metal around the plub 32. The metal quickly runs down between thechunks of ice 26 in a random manner (partially melting them) beforesolidifying, resulting in a casting created by the random flow paths,sizes and shapes of the ice, just prior to solidifying.

As previously mentioned, better visual characteristics in the finishedcasting will be obtained if chunks of ice are of random size and atleast having rounded corners are used. Obviously, a wide range ofcasting sizes may be made in accordance with the present invention bymerely increasing the amount of metal poured over the ice. Similarly,the size of the chunks of ice themselves for larger castings, should ingeneral be increased, though differences in visual appearance andcharacter of castings of the same size may be made by varying the sizeof the chunks of ice within a reasonable range.

One of the principal advantages of the present invention method is thatthe resulting castings are each unique in appearance, and equallyimportantly are substantially free of sharp protrusions so that verylittle handwork is required after casting to remove these hazards.Instead, the castings are an attractive blend of random shaped, enlargedareas and thin contoured sections, all of which appear connected by aplurality of edges of varying radius, but nowhere being significantlysharp to present a hazard to a person handling the castmg.

Another parameter which may be varied to vary the effect achieved is thetemperature of the molten metal used. In general, the higher thetemperature, the more the metal tends to run between the chunks of icebefore solidifying, so that a taller, perhaps more open type ofdecorative casting is achieved. Also, the hotter the metal the moretendency there is for spikes and sharp protrusions to form, so thattemperature control of the molten metal provides a control on thesehazards. Similarly, if the temperature of the metal is too low,solidification of the metal will occur before it has sufficientopportunity to flow between the chunks of ice and form what will appearto be the stalagmite type extensions in the finished casting. Also ofsignificance is the particular alloy used. By way of example, in thecase of aluminum, relatively pure aluminum solidifies at one particulartemperature whereas alloys solidify over a temperature range. Thesecharacteristics all effect the preferred pouring temperature and to somedegree effect the characteristics of the finished casting.

As the solidified casting lies in the bed of ice the top surface thereofwill become the base on which the casting will ultimately rest.Accordingly, this top surface characteristically is very irregular,being defined by the irregular surface of the ice bed. However, normallythere will be three areas which are higher than other areas so that thecasting will naturally tend to stay on these areas. In fact, for manycastings of a purely decorative character, the castings will naturallystand in any of a plurality of positions, each of which yields asubstantially different visual appearance of the casting because of thedifferent perspective, which in itself is a desirable result. In thecase of castings to be used for candlestick holders and the like,wherein a plug such as plug 32 is used during the casting process, it isusually desired to have the opening defined by the plug 32 perpendicularto the base of the casting (or other desired orientation as non-verticalplugs may also be used). In such cases, a fixture such as is shown inFIG. 4 for the case of a vertical plug may be used to align the base ofthe casting with the opening therethrough. The fixture is characterizedby a metal plug 40 similar to plug 32 mounted on a heavy metal base 42.The casting is then placed over the plug 40 and slammed down onto base42 so as to align the high points on the base in a plane perpendicularto the opening through the casting defined by the plug 32. In thisregard, the high points on the base are relatively thin so as to bereasonably easily leveled in this manner immediately after being removedfrom the ice bed and inspected for any sharp protrusions- As a furtheralternate method, the tank containing the ice bed may also be partiallyor substantially filled with water. While the resulting casting may havea number of sharp protrusions, the artistic character of the resultingcasting is far superior to those cast in water without the ice, as theice distributes the metal quite evenly and prevents the sinking andsolidification of the metal in large blobs.

Various finishes may be applied to the castings. By way of example, ithas been found that spray painting shot from different directions coversthe castings well in spite of the large number .of cavities, concavesurfaces, etc. Similarly, dip painting has also been used, though ingeneral spray painting has been found to provide better results.However, painting generally tends to detract from the unusual characterof the casting surface itself. Consequently, finishing processes such asanodizing, using colored anodize by way of example, have been found mostsuccessful, resulitng in an unusually attractive finish and exhibitingthe full range of surface characteristics existing in the unfinishedcasting itself. In this regard, surface finish as well as the alloy usedwill depend somewhat on the intended purpose of the casting. Because ofthe random, irregular, yet smooth and generally open character of thecasting, they are very suitable for use as decorations on the bottom ofan aquarium. Consequently, a noncorroding alloy and a non-toxic finishshould be used for castings of this intended purpose. By way of example,aluminum having a purity of at least 99.9 percent with a colored anodizesurface has been found appropriate for such uses. Also, it should benoted that while the method described herein contemplated the pouring ofthe molten metal generally at the center of an ice bed with or withoutone or more plugs to define openings or cavities therein, a somewhatelongate casting may be achieved by pouring along a line in the centerof the ice bed or, if a generally flat back surface of the casting isdesired, by pouring along the edge of the container holding the ice sothat the random flow of the metal is limited in that direction.

There has been described herein methods of casting objects of art andfor providing the desired surface finish and color thereon. lt isto beunderstood however, that while the foregoing explanation, described indetail for the preferred method and materials such as aluminum, thepresent invention may be practiced with other metals, such as, by way ofexample, zinc, brass and stainless steel, to name a few. Further, thesize of the casting which may be made in accordance with the presentinvention is limited primarily by the size of the ice bed and thequantity of molten metal which may be rapidly delivered to the ice bedfor the casting. Of course, the nature of the finish required or desiredwill vary depending upon the material, with certain materials such asstainless steel providing an attractive product without any specialsurface coating. In other cases multi-colored castings may be created bysuch processes as spraying the castings from two directions usingdifferent colored paints. Other variations may be created by utilizingdifferent size and character ice at different positions in the ice bed.By way of example, variations in size with vertical position in the icebed, variations in horizontal directions, or threedimensional variationsin the character of the ice bed might be utilized. Thus, while theinvention has been particularly shown and described with reference tothe preferred methods thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in detail may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A method of casting decorative items comprising the steps ofpreparing a bed of pieces of ice, pouring molten metal onto said bed,and allowing said molten metal to solidify as it runs between saidpieces of ice.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said ice is rinsed with water to removefrost therefrom prior to pouring said molten metal.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said metal is aluminum, and furthercomprising the step of anodizing said aluminum after casting. 1

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said item is painted after casting.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said pieces of ice are ice cubes.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said pieces of ice are a combination ofice cubes and portions thereof remaining after the casting of previousitems.

7. A method of casting decorative items comprising:

a. preparing a bed of pieces of ice;

b. pouring molten metal of a predetermined temperature onto said bed ofice;

c. allowing said molten metal to solidify to form a casting as it runsbetween said pieces of ice;

d. removing said casting from said bed of ice.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein at least one solid object of apredetermined shape is disposed in said bed of ice and the molten metalis poured at least adjacent said solid object.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said solid object is a metal memberhaving a convex top disposed so as to protrude above the top surface ofsaid bed of ice, and said molten metal is poured generally over saidmetal member whereby said metal member may subsequently be removed fromsaid casting, thereby defining an opening of a predetermined shape insaid casting.

l0. Themethod of claim 9 including the further steps of locating saidcasting with respect to the opening defined by metal member and strikingthe bottom of said casting on a surface approximately perpendicular tosaid opening to flatten said bottom.

11. An object of art and decoration manufactured by preparing a bed ofpieces of ice, pouring molten metal onto said bed, and allowing saidmolten metal to solidify as it runs between said pieces of ice.

12. An object of art and decoration manufactured by a. preparing a bedof pieces of ice; b. pouring molten metal of a predetermined temperatureonto said bed of ice;

odize finish.

1. A method of casting decorative items comprising the steps ofpreparing a bed of pieces of ice, pouring molten metal onto said bed,and allowing said molten metal to solidify as it runs between saidpieces of ice.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said ice is rinsed withwater to remove frost therefrom prior to pouring said molten metal. 3.The method of claim 1 wherein said metal is aluminum, and furthercomprising the step of anodizing said aluminum after casting.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said item is painted after casting.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 whereiN said pieces of ice are ice cubes.
 6. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said pieces of ice are a combination of icecubes and portions thereof remaining after the casting of previousitems.
 7. A method of casting decorative items comprising: a. preparinga bed of pieces of ice; b. pouring molten metal of a predeterminedtemperature onto said bed of ice; c. allowing said molten metal tosolidify to form a casting as it runs between said pieces of ice; d.removing said casting from said bed of ice.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein at least one solid object of a predetermined shape is disposedin said bed of ice and the molten metal is poured at least adjacent saidsolid object.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said solid object is ametal member having a convex top disposed so as to protrude above thetop surface of said bed of ice, and said molten metal is pouredgenerally over said metal member whereby said metal member maysubsequently be removed from said casting, thereby defining an openingof a predetermined shape in said casting.
 10. The method of claim 9including the further steps of locating said casting with respect to theopening defined by metal member and striking the bottom of said castingon a surface approximately perpendicular to said opening to flatten saidbottom.
 11. An object of art and decoration manufactured by preparing abed of pieces of ice, pouring molten metal onto said bed, and allowingsaid molten metal to solidify as it runs between said pieces of ice. 12.An object of art and decoration manufactured by a. preparing a bed ofpieces of ice; b. pouring molten metal of a predetermined temperatureonto said bed of ice; c. allowing said molten metal to solidify to forma casting as it runs between said pieces of ice; d. removing saidcasting from said bed of ice; e. providing a decorative finish on saidcasting.
 13. The object of claim 12 wherein said metal and object arealuminum and said decorative finish is an anodize finish.